Omar Alghabra

[Canadian Tennis Player, January 30th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to boast about a Canadian rising tennis star.

Eighteen-year-old Bianca Andreescu was born in Mississauga and trained at the Ontario Racquet Club. Here is what she accomplished in just one month. She started 2019 by defeating two tennis giants, Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams, eventually reaching her first WTA final at the ASB Classic in New Zealand. A week later, she won her first-ever grand slam match at the Australian Open, and now, this past Sunday, Bianca won her first-ever WTA title at the Newport Beach tournament in California. Four weeks ago she was ranked 152nd in the world. Today, she has surged to number 67. She is now Canada's number one women's tennis player.

Mississauga and all of Canada are incredibly proud of Bianca. Her impressive skills and achievements are just the beginning. We say, “Go, Bianca, go!”

[International Trade, December 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for New Brunswick Southwest for her advocacy on behalf of fishers and seafood exporters.

I am happy to tell her that because of CETA, 96% of the EU tariffs on fish and seafood have been eliminated, and the remaining 4% will be phased out over the coming years.

The EU is Atlantic Canada's third-largest market for fish and seafood. Thanks to CETA, Atlantic fish and seafood now has a significant competitive advantage in Europe compared to U.S. exports. For example, according to the Lobster Council of Canada, lobster exports to Spain grew by 345%.

[Foreign Affairs, December 11th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Canada-Japan, Side-Letter on Motor Vehicle Standards and Regulations under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, done in Ottawa on November 29”.

[International Trade, December 5th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I understand the anxiety my colleague is expressing. I want to repeat that supply management is an integral part of Canadian agriculture. I can assure her that we have protected and defended it, and we will continue to protect and defend it.

Trade is essential to the success and competitiveness of our agriculture industry. That is why the government is looking to expand opportunities and to advance the interests of Canadian farmers by negotiating trade agreements and modernizing existing ones.

The government is committed to working with the dairy, poultry and egg sectors to develop a path forward to ensure our supply-managed sectors remain strong, stable and competitive well into the future. The government's support for supply management has been consistent. We will continue to be consistent in supporting our supply-managed sector.

[International Trade, December 5th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the government understands the importance of the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector to our economy, our trade and our jobs. Our negotiators worked hard to advance Canadian agricultural interests at the table. The Canada-United States-Mexico agreement preserves existing agriculture commitments in North America and helps grow an already highly integrated industry. This agreement maintains the three pillars of supply management: production controls, price controls and import controls.

The Government of Canada strongly supports Canadian dairy, poultry and egg farmers, and our supply management system. Around the world, our supply management system is viewed as a model of stability. It provides a fair return for farmers, a predictable supply for processors, and high-quality dairy, poultry and egg products for consumers.

Canada's dairy, poultry and egg producers and processors are vital to the prosperity and sustainable growth of our nation and are an integral part of Canadian agriculture. Production and processing activities contribute to multiple other industries, all of which help support local economies and create vibrant rural communities.

Promoting trade and maintaining our supply management system are not mutually exclusive. Canada has a proven track record of negotiating high-quality free trade agreements with major trading partners while maintaining the pillars of supply management. Through CETA, the CPTPP and the renegotiation of NAFTA, the biggest free trade deals in Canada's history, we have been able to preserve, protect and defend our supply management system.

The government stands strongly behind the dairy, poultry and egg industries, and together we will work to assess the impacts of the new NAFTA and CPTPP on the sectors. To this end, the government will continue to work with dairy, poultry and egg farmers and processors as part of the government's recent commitment to form working groups that will discuss the details of the recent agreements and collaborate to develop strategies to help them adapt, innovate and remain competitive.

Surely, the hon. member does not want us to make decisions on the compensation before consulting farmers.

[International Trade, December 5th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, there is no question that there are challenges we need to address, and I appreciate the opportunity to do that in this House. However, with challenges come opportunities. The Canadian dairy industry is doing great work in growing markets through branding, collaborating with industry and harnessing innovation.

Our government is proud to help Canada's dairy industry lead the way in innovation and technology. We are investing $350 million in programs to help dairy producers and processors boost production and compete. The program is designed to support the productivity and competitiveness of dairy farmers through targeted contributions and to help the sector adapt to the anticipated impact of the new agreements. The producer portion of this investment is $250 million for the dairy farm investment program. That is why I want to emphasize and stress the point that our government continues to support our supply management industries.

[International Trade, December 5th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for raising this important issue. The government strongly supports supply management, dairy producers and the Canadian dairy industry. Canada's supply management sectors are essential parts of a strong, prosperous agricultural sector.

On September 30, Canada reached a historic trade agreement with the United States and Mexico. The new agreement means stability and security for our farmers when trading with their largest customer to the south, and it means a strong foundation for growth in the future. With this agreement, we have maintained the tariff-free access to the American market for Canadian exports that we have enjoyed under NAFTA. That is good news for the 1.9 million Canadians whose jobs depend on trade with the United States. For our farmers and food processors, we have protected our $30 billion in agri-food exports to the United States.

Throughout the negotiations, our government worked extremely hard to advance the interests of Canadian farmers and food businesses. We know that they are primary economic drivers for this country. We know that they create well-paying jobs, particularly in our rural communities. At the same time, we fully recognize that the agreement will impact farmers and processors under supply management.

It is important to remember that this U.S. administration was calling for the complete dismantlement of the supply management system. Our government defended and preserved our system from these very strong American attempts to see it dismantled. The Prime Minister has stated that our dairy, poultry and egg producers will be fully and fairly supported for any market losses.

Before we do that, we need to sit down with producers and processors. That is why we have formed working groups for industry and government to develop strategies for the short term and the long term. Our common goal is to help our dairy, poultry and egg sectors innovate and drive our economy for future generations.

[Naseeha, November 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, mental health issues know no ethnic or cultural boundaries. Too many of our youth from cultural communities suffer in silence, so I want to tell members about Naseeha, which is an organization that offers support to youth.

Naseeha is Arabic for advice. It was founded by Yaseen and Summayah Poonah over 10 years ago. They started with a volunteer helpline for Muslim youth with the aim of providing teens with support that understands their situation without judgment or shaming. Today Naseeha employs professional counsellors and has open phone lines seven days a week. They receive calls from tens of thousands of people from all backgrounds, from all over Canada and around the world. They deal with issues such as depression, bullying, suicide, domestic violence, radicalization, intergenerational challenges and identity questions. Naseeha is a valuable partner to organizations such as CAMH, school boards and the Kids Help Phone line.

I want to thank the directors, staff and volunteers for their excellent support.

[Rail Transportation, November 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to opening markets for Canadian workers and businesses. We are the only country in the G7 that has a free trade agreement with all other G7 nations. We are committed to helping our businesses grow. That is why in the fall economic statement, the Minister of Finance announced our trade diversification strategy to help businesses in Quebec and across Canada. We want to bring more investment to Canada, we want to create more jobs for Canadians and we want to raise the quality of living for all Canadians.

[Finance, October 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, when the Harper Conservatives chose to bail out Chrysler in 2009, they had no intention of ever recovering the loan to old Chrysler. They even went as far as to approve 100% of the loss at the exact same time they handed out the money.

Our government put every effort into recovering that money, and when we could not do that, we did what the Conservatives intended on doing in first place.